| Marcus Clem editor in chief | The evening had dipped below freezing after sundown and a howling wind made it feel that much colder. The grouping of candles placed in honor of a murdered 10-year-old girl fought the elements, and mostly stayed lit. So did the spirits of the eight people who stood by through the 20-minute ceremony in Pittsburg State’s campus Oval to pay respects to the memory of Hailey Owens. “I was very surprised that people showed up,” said Austin Stapleton, event organizer and sophomore in music education. Stapleton, a member of the Canterbury Club, an organization sponsored by St. Peter’s Episcopal Church on 306 W. Euclid in Pittsburg, decided to follow…

Function and design come together in new wood tech lab | Jay Benedict reporter | It’s a classroom two years in the making, built by students, for students, with funds procured by alumni, and there’s nothing quite like it at Pittsburg State. The Wood Technology Design and Engineering Lab ribbon cutting stayed true to its roots by using a saw to cut a wood ribbon. The ceremony was held Wednesday, Feb. 26, at the Kansas Technology Center. The lab was designed by Chris Bell and Scott Vasey in 2012 while they were both graduate students at PSU. Currently, both work for Advanced Fixtures Incorporated (AFI) in Texas. They showed the plans to AFI and the…

| Andrea Hucke reporter | “Who doesn’t like to get fancy?” said Kimberlee Fields, president of Black Student Association, in reference to the Black & Gold Ball scheduled for 7 p.m. Thursday, Feb. 20. The ball is part of BSA’s various activities to celebrate Black History Month. Fields, junior in psychology, says she is looking forward to the ball. The event is open to all Pitt State students and will feature a night of food, fun and dancing. BSA expects it to be an evening for students to take a break and have a good time relaxing and mingling with friends. “It’s the first time that our club has put on an event like this,”…

Poetry night mixes music, hip-hop | Robin Siteneski reporter | Hip-hop and poetry were in the limelight Monday night, Feb. 17, at the U-Club when the Office of Student Diversity presented a night of spoken-word poetry. Part of the Black History Month celebrations, the poet Xplicit was joined on stage by Tebe Zalango, who surprised the audience with poetry, violin music and song. “My name is Brandon – my poetry name is Xplicit – but my mama calls me Brandon, so you can call me Brandon,” he said, setting an intimate tone. Brandon Thornton shifted from hip-hop to poetry seven years ago. He now divides his time between teaching high-school math and traveling the country…

‘We Love Diversity’ brings art and diversity in focus | Gretchen Burns reporter | A co-project between Pittsburg State’s destination for art and the Office of Student Diversity sponsored a convention for creation this week. On Feb. 11, students gathered in the Harry Krug Gallery of Porter Hall to celebrate the “We Love Diversity” event. The night began with performances by Alyssa Marsh, who sang opera; Theo Hines’ recitation of the poem “The Darker Side of the Rainbow;” and by Emely Flores’ performance of the song “Say Something” by A Great Big World. Hines says he wasn’t quite sure what the event would entail, but was pleasantly surprised at how it was executed. “I’m aware…

Event is best oppurtunity of year to meet employers | Gretchen Burns reporter | A college degree opens a lot of doors, but more than 90 companies are coming to Pittsburg State to catch students in advance. The spring Career Fair, held by the Office of Career Services, will feature everything from police departments to technical and graduate schools. The event will be from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Thursday, Feb. 13, on the second floor of Overman Student Center. “It will be very cozy for everyone there,” said Mindy Cloninger, director of career services. “We are looking forward to the expansion of the Overman Student Center so that we will be able to…

| Gretchen Burns reporter | For Blake Aldhers jumping into the Crimson Villas swimming pool on Saturday, Feb. 8, was a very cold decision. Aldhers, along with 186 other people, participated in the eighth annual Polar Plunge. The event benefits the Southeast Kansas Special Olympics. “I remember last year, one of the jumping groups dumped in a cooler of ice because it wasn’t cold enough,” Aldhers, junior in international business, said. “On the way to the pool this year, I saw it was snowing and I just thought, ‘Well, let’s hope we don’t get hypothermia or something.” John Lair, director of the Special Olympics New Hope Services program says he estimates that the event itself…

| Robin Siteneski reporter | About 100 Pitt State students braved the slippery roads Saturday morning to learn how to be better leaders. They traded the comfort of their beds to participate in workshops and lectures on subjects such as resume building, advertising and intercultural communication. The attendance was smaller than expected, but students who were at the Basic Leadership Training say that waking up early was worth it. “I learned that effective communication is pretty much the key and that anybody can be a leader,” said Connor Goodman, junior in history, said. He participated in a breakout session – there were nine total – that asked students to build a gingerbread house without talking…

| Gretchen Burns reporter | Although there was a small turnout to the Fiesta cook-off held in the Crimson Commons Lobby the evening of Wednesday, Feb. 5, attendees agreed that the food was hot and tasty. “There was a lot of good food,” said Mark Hoffhines, senior in history and government education. “There was a lack of participation, but that’s because it’s cold and snowy outside, and a lot of people don’t want to leave their rooms.” Grace Fritz, the Residence Hall Assembly (RHA) programming communications coordinator, says that the small attendance of nine people was due to other events going on at the same time that sapped attendance. Originally, the RHA had planned on…

Russia’s Olympic-level effort, problems | Michael Baur sports editor | | Kelsea Renz managing editor | Whether you’re a fan or not, the winter Olympics are inescapable. The Olympics will become a part of everyone’s lives during the next two weeks, ending a four-year wait for fans and athletes all over the world. When the Olympic cauldron is lit, the world will turn to Sochi, Russia – a city famous as a ski destination in the winter and a tropical paradise in the summer, where the hopes and dreams of athletes will come down to a single jump in figure skating and one last shot as time expires in hockey. Safety, other controversy The Sochi…